1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to turbines for generating electrical power from the motion of air in the sky relative to the ground, or “sky motion” (the motion that moves the clouds across the skies), which may be mounted on top of a city.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mankind's recorded history began in the stone age, then continued in the bronze age and the iron age, to our present age, the industrial revolution. At the present time, electricity is produced by hydroelectric dams, atomically or by the burning of hydrocarbons. Production of electricity by hydroelectric dams is limited and is also destructive to the environment. The burning of coal deposits mercury and acid rain into the environment. Toxic ash must also be disposed of. Nuclear power production is plagued with the problem of long term storage of radioactive waste. In 1954, Lewis Strauss, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said that atomic reactors might someday produce such an abundance of energy that electricity would become “too cheap to meter”. What nuclear power failed to do, sky power using the present invention may accomplish. It will be the backbone of our next age, the solar age, in which all our energy needs are satisfied by power currently provided by the sun.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,556,715, issued on Oct. 13, 1925, to William Monroe Riggs, discloses a windmill, including plural shafts with blades, but does not disclose that the blades extend from the shafts, with each blade having at least three telescoping panels, such that the angles of the panels are adjustable, with rotation of the shafts being used to generate electricity, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,757,667, issued on May 6, 1930, to Erich Hesse, discloses a device for regulating wind wheels to obtain a uniform rotational speed, by changing the pitch of their vanes with rods in the arms on which the vanes are located. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that the blades of the turbine can be telescopically extended (in low sky speed) or retracted (in high sky speed) to regulate their length (and thereby their “aspect ratio”, i.e., the ratio of length to width) according to the speed of the sky.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,108,245, issued on Feb. 15, 1938, to Thomas Ash, Jr., discloses a gyratory airplane wing, with telescoping blade sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,173,291, issued on Sep. 19, 1939, to Thomas Leo Ash, discloses an aerodynamic rotor, with telescoping blade sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,388,377, issued on Nov. 6, 1945, to John R. Albers, discloses an electric wind plant, with parallel rotors joined by a wing.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,393, issued on Jul. 19, 1955, to Vittorio Isacco, discloses a telescopic blade for rotating wing aircraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,776,017, issued on Jan. 1, 1957, to Jesse B. Alexander, discloses a telescoping rotor for a helicopter.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,649, issued on Jan. 20, 1959, to Horst Dieter Lux, discloses a helicopter rotor with telescoping blade sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,972, issued on Dec. 7, 1976, to Esam M. Nassar, discloses wind machine with reciprocating blades mounted on top of a tall building.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,144, issued on Aug. 30, 1977, to John Lodewyk Loth, discloses a wind energy concentrator with a wing and parallel pods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,225, issued on Dec. 27, 1977, to William D. Allison, discloses a multivane windmill, in which the pitch of the vanes can be changed in response to wind speed, to keep the speed of rotation constant. Again, the instant invention is distinguishable, in that the blades of the turbine can be telescopically extended or retracted to regulate their aspect ratio.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,131, issued on Jan. 10, 1978, to Marcellus L. Jacobs and Paul R. Jacobs, discloses a wind-driven electric power plant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,717, issued on Jan. 15, 1980, to Motohiro Yamada, discloses a windmill structure with parallel rotors joined by a wing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,736, issued on Mar. 24, 1981, to Dennis Jacobs, discloses a governed propeller type wind motor arrangement, in which the pitch of the blades is changed, but the blades do not telescope, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,631, issued on Feb. 22, 1983, to Dale R. Barnes, discloses a windmill speed limiting system utilizing hysteresis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,259, issued on Feb. 19, 1985, to Berthold W. Schumacher, discloses a fluid flow energy converter, with several screws (or “helicoid structures”) rather than propeller-like blades, as in the instant invention. It is disclosed in column 8, lines 45–49 that, “an ideal location for a wind mill is, for instance, the roof of a highrise building in a city. Of course, a special tower may also be built for carrying the helicoids.” But its structure is completely different from that of the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,101, issued on Dec. 1, 1987, to Peter M. Jamieson, discloses a wind turbine, with each blade having a fixed inner portion and an outer portion that can move outward to lengthen the blade, to increase drag and slow down rotation of the turbine. The instant invention is distinguishable in that it has several panels, not just two, that can telescope inward or outward, and it can regulate its speed of rotation by changing the angles in the panels in its blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,807, issued on Nov. 7, 1989, to Keith G. Baker, discloses a device for producing electricity from wind, having a vertical belt and interspaced hydrodynamic foil members. Its use in high rise buildings is disclosed in column 8, lines 13-21, but its structure is different from that of the instant invention, e.g., it has no telescoping blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,103, issued on May 17, 1994, to John J. Hickey, discloses an auger shaped fluid medium engaging member. Its use “on tops of roofs of a high rise building” is suggested in column 1, lines 66–67, but its structure is readily distinguishable from that of the instant invention, e.g., it has no telescoping blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,472, issued on Mar. 11, 1997, to Masahiro Obukata and Masaaki Nakadate, discloses a rotor blade for a rotary wing aircraft (such as a helicopter) having a different shape from the impeller blades of the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,279, issued on Mar. 26, 2002, to Anne Marie Rodde, Joel Reneaux and Jean Jacques Thibert, discloses a blade profile for an aircraft rotor, again having a different shape from the impeller blades of the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,810, issued on Sep. 2, 2003, to Kaj Olsen et al., discloses a wind turbine blade with a system for deicing and lightning protection.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,439, issued on Apr. 27, 2004, to Amir S. Mikhail and Geoffrey F. Deane, discloses a wind or water turbine with retractable rotor blades controlled by a computer responsive to wind or current velocity.
British Patent No. 252,461, complete specification accepted on May 27, 1926, inventor Kurt Bilau, discloses improvements in or related to wind-driven prime movers, including braking action by producing eddy currents in a slot or slots between displaced sections of the sail vane or the sail vane and a head piece, but not by telescoping as in the instant invention.
Swiss Patent No. 170,548, published on Sep. 17, 1934, to Hermann Honnef, discloses a wind turbine having plural rotors, mounted at heights of about 180 to 360 meters, where the speed of the air current is from about 3.25 to 3.75 time the air current speed on the ground, for the purpose of generating more power from higher air current speeds at greater heights.
Japanese Patent No. 57-32074, published on Feb. 20, 1982, inventor Teru Matsumiya, discloses a wind mill, with blades having a fixed inner member and an outer member that can retract inward into the inner member to reduce the wind receiving area, or extend outward from the inner member to increase the wind receiving area. The instant invention is distinguishable in that it has not just two, but several telescoping panels, which also have an adjustable pitch.
Soviet Patent No. 992,804, published on Jan. 30, 1983, discloses a wind motor rotor with telescopic blades, having a fixed part and a moving part. Again, the instant invention is distinguishable in that it has not just two, but several telescoping panels, which also have an adjustable pitch.
Soviet Patent No. 1,276,849, published on Dec. 15, 1986, discloses a wind power generator supporting frame, with plural shafts, but does not disclose blades extending from the shafts with telescoping, adjustable panels.
Electric Power from the Wind—II, Electrical World, May 12, 1945, pp. 102–104, discloses the possibility of generating electric power from wind, but only in limited areas, and that wind is faster above the surface of the ground.
Marks' Standard Handbook, 9th Edition, 1987, p. 9–173, FIG. 9.11.18, discloses that the sky speed at an altitude of 350 meters is more than twice the wind speed on the ground.
Handbook of Airfoil Sections, Rice, Michael, 1971, p. 47, discloses that in a symmetrical airfoil, the center of pressure is stable for all angles of attack.
Mechanical Engineering Review Manual, 7th Edition, Lindeburg, Michael R., 1984, p. 5–17, FIG. 5.12, discloses that maximum efficiency takes place when the ratio of blade tip speed to air current speed is six to one.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.